Wireless computing technologies provide untethered access to the Internet and other networks. One of the most critical technologies for wireless networking (or Wi-Fi) is the IEEE 802.11 family of protocols promulgated by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Currently, the protocols are widely adopted in wireless devices such as laptop computers, tablet computers, smart phones, and network appliances.
Typically, before an access point is configured for connection to a mesh network, the access point is manually configured with configuration data. For example, an access point that has yet to connect to a mesh network is first connected to receive configuration data. The configuration data allows the access point to connect with a particular access point based specifically on where it will be deployed on a network.
Problematically, when a manually configured access point is moved to a different part of the mobile network to change coverage areas, the configuration data may no longer be valid at the new location, thereby requiring the access point to once again be manually configured.
What is needed is a technique to automatically configure an access point connecting to a wireless network from any location therein.